Children In Armed Conflict

THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT AND CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT:
PROSECUTING THE CRIME OF ENLISTING AND CONSCRIPTING CHILD SOLDIERS

I would like to give you a message. Please do your best to tell the world what is happening to us,
the children. So that other children don't have to pass through this violence.
- A young girl who escaped the LRA in Uganda.1

Child soldiering is not a new phenomenon; in fact, children have been used in conflict from Sparta to Hitler’s
Youth. Even the US recruited boys, known as “drummer boys,” during the Civil War. Their drum rolls told the
army when to eat, sleep and march. Today, approximately 300,000 children are engaged in conflict worldwide.2

The message from the children to the free world is to listen, “So that other children don't have to pass through
this violence.” 3 The international community has responded by adopting the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, the Optional Protocol to the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1998 Rome Statute that
established the International Criminal Court (ICC). In addition, the UN has monitored the situation of children
in armed conflict and it established a Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict. Since 2006, this
position has been held by Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, who was appointed by UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan and reappointed in February 2007 by Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.4 This position was created in
response to the 1996 Landmark UN Report, “Impact of Armed Conflict on Children.”5 The report is known as
the Machel study, named after its author, Graca Machel.

This paper will explain who child soldiers are and why they are recruited. Further, it will explore the progress
made by the international community and the US in stopping the recruitment and use of children in armed
conflict. In addition, it will describe why protecting children from recruitment is so difficult. Finally, it will
explain the difficult process of rehabilitating and reintegrating former child soldiers.

Who Are Child Soldiers and Who Uses Them?

A child soldier is a person under the age of 18 who directly or indirectly participates in armed conflict.6 The
majority of children recruited are involved in armed political groups including: government backed paramilitary
groups, militias, self-defense units and ethnic, religious or clan-based groups.7

1
African child soldiers: Why, how and can they be stopped from being used!, available at
http://www.ssn.flindders.edu.au/global/africa/zevcosti/index.htm.
2
See UNICEF, Child Soldiers, available at http://www.unicef.org/emerg/index_childsoldiers.html.
3
4
See Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, available at
http://www.un.org/children/conflict/english/machelreports.html.
5
Id.
6
UNICEF, Child Soldiers, available at http://www.unicef.org/emerg/index_childsoldiers.html.
7
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, Some Facts, May 6, 2009, available at http://www.child-soliders.org/childoslers/some-
facts.

A program of the United Nations Association of the United States of America
www.amicc.org

During conflict, children are easily recruited because they are often neglected, abandoned or orphaned.8
Children are lured into these groups by social causes, religious freedoms and ideas of national liberation.9
However, not all children join willingly; therefore, groups abduct children from schools, marketplaces, homes
and hospitals. Once abducted, groups force children to attack men, women and children in order to desensitize
them to violence.10 Children who do not attack on command are executed or beaten; therefore, most children
commit unspeakable acts when ordered by commanders. After following these orders, many children believe
they will no longer be accepted by their communities. Within the camps, children work as porters, cooks,
guards, messengers, spies, fighters, landmine detectors and sex slaves.11

Half of the approximately 300,000 child soldiers worldwide are in the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda. 12 However, this crisis
extends far beyond Africa into Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Europe. Today, 56 governments and
armed groups in 14 countries are currently violating international laws prohibiting the recruitment and use of
children as soldiers.

On March 26, 2009, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon reported to the Security Council that Afghanistan,
Myanmar, Nepal and the Philippines use child soldiers.13 In addition, Burma, Chad and the DRC have
consistently violated international laws prohibiting the use of child soldiers. Moreover, groups including the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
and The National Liberation Army (ELN) in Colombia and The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda
have consistently violated international laws prohibiting the use of child soldiers.14 However, progress has been
made with the recent release of children in Burundi, CAR, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC and Uganda.15

8
See id.
9
10
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, Child Soldiers, available at
http://www.un.org/children/conflict/english/childsoldiers.html.
11
Michael Klare, Conflict Topics: Child Soldiers, Program in Peace and World Security Studies (PAWSS), available at
http://pawss.hampshire.edu/topics/childsoldiers/.
12
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, Frequently Asked Questions, available at
http://www.child-soldiers.org/child-soldiers/questions-and-answers.
13
United Nations General Assembly, Children in Armed Conflict, March 26, 2009, available at http://www.un.org/ga/.
14
Human Rights Watch, UN: Punish Abuse of Children in War, April 28, 2009, available at
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/04/28/un-punish-abuse-children-war.
15
UN News Service, Ban Calls for Greater Efforts to Protect Children in Armed Conflict in Latest Report, April 22, 2009, available at
http://www.un.org/apps/news/printnews.asp?nid=30567.

www.amicc.org

Reactions to Child Soldiering

Early on when my brothers and I were captured, the LRA explained to us that all five brothers
couldn’t serve in the LRA because we would not perform well. So they tied up my two younger
brothers and invited us to watch. Then they beat them with sticks until the [two] of them died.
They told us it would give us strength to fight; my youngest brother was nine years old.
- Former child soldier from Uganda.16

The international response to child soldiering includes the adoption of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the
Child. It defines a child as an individual under the age of 18. It establishes that children have the right to
support, education and protection during conflict. It requires governments to apply international humanitarian
law to protect children from exploitation, violence, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.17

On May 25, 2000, the UN General Assembly adopted the Optional Protocol on the Rights of the Child
Convention. The Optional Protocol strengthens the convention by requiring governments to change the
minimum age for military recruitment from 15 to 18. It also requires States to adjust the minimum voluntary
enlistment age from 16 to 18. Further, it requires States to provide technical and financial support to stop the
recruitment of children. However, it allows a government to accept voluntary recruitment of a 17 year-old if
consent is given by a parent or legal guardian.18

Special Court for Sierra Leone

When they came to my village, they asked my older brother whether he was ready to join the
militia. He was just 17 and he said no; they shot him in the head. Then they asked me if I was
ready to sign, so what could I do - I didn’t want to die.
- Former child soldier from the DRC19

In 2002, the UN and the Government of Sierra Leone established the Special Court for Sierra Leone which,
unlike previous courts, could prosecute individuals for using children in conflict as a violation of international
humanitarian law. The Special Court for Sierra Leone reasoned that the Geneva Conventions, the Convention
on the Rights of the Child and the Rome Statute codified already existing international humanitarian law;
therefore, the use of child soldiers was considered a crime under international humanitarian law and thus within
its jurisdiction.20

16
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, Voices of Young Soldiers, BBC report, available at
http://www.child-soliders.org/childsoliders/voices-of-young-soldiers.
17
UNICEF, Convention on the Rights of the Child: Protection rights: Keeping safe from harm, available at
http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Protection_list.pdf.
18
19
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, Voices of Young Soldiers, BBC report, available at
http://www.child-soliders.org/childsoliders/voices-of-young-soldiers.

www.amicc.org

The Special Court for Sierra Leone issued its first indictments in June 2003. These indictments included
conscripting, enlisting or using children under the age of 15 in hostilities. In August 2007, the Special Court for
Sierra Leone found Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu guilty of war crimes,
including the use of children in conflict. All three men were sentenced to 45 years in prison. Currently, the
Special Court for Sierra Leone is prosecuting the former Liberian President Charles Ghankay Taylor for using
child soldiers, among other crimes.

The International Criminal Court
The 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) includes child soldiering as a war crime. The
Statute prohibits national forces or other groups from conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15
whether or not directly taking part in conflict. The crime of conscripting children under 15 is considered a war
crime in either international or non-international conflicts.

The Court, established in 2002, began investigating crimes within its jurisdiction in 2003. The investigations
include the DRC, CAR, Uganda and Darfur. The first case to be brought before the Court involves the DRC
and the use of children as soldiers. Currently, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo
Chui are in custody and charged with war crimes including conscripting children under the age of 15 to take
part in hostilities.

In January 2009, the Court opened the trial of Thomas Lubanga, the alleged commander of the Forces
Patriotique pour la Liberation du Congo (FPLC). The Court has set September 24, 2009, as the start date for
the trial of Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui. The Court has a case open against four individuals
from Northern Uganda, all of whom face charges of conscripting children under the age of 15. However, all
four suspects remain at large.

The ICC and promoting victim participation. In response to the sensitive nature of cases within its
jurisdiction, the Court has established safeguards to protect the rights of both defendants and victims. The
safeguards include voice and face distortion for witnesses who testify at trial. These safeguards are for the
benefit of the witness only. Witnesses in the Lubanga trial have testified in separate rooms with face and voice
distortion and were assisted by the Victims and Witness Unit of the Court.

However, the prosecution must disclose the identity of the witnesses it wishes to call at trial in order to allow
the defense to prepare an adequate defense. Nevertheless, in limited situations the prosecution is permitted to
wait longer before disclosing information to the defense usually to protect the safety of the witness. Former
child soldiers are especially vulnerable to intimidation, threats and possible retaliation; therefore, the ICC
safeguards are essential to encourage them to testify.

Dr. Elisabeth Schauer, an expert witness in the Lubanga trial, testified to the psychological effects of conflict
on children. Dr. Schauer conducted a study of children exposed to the conflict in Northern Uganda, The
Psychological Impact of Child Soldiering.21 Based on her findings, she believes it is important for children to

21
Elizabeth Schauer, PhD, The Psychological Impact of Child Soldiering, April 7, 2009, pp. 34-38, available at
http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc636752.pdf.

www.amicc.org

feel safe when testifying against the accused. She suggests that they testify in separate rooms from the accused
or using a sight barrier such as a person or screen. Additionally, she suggests that children be encouraged while
testifying with words of praise such as, “thank you, your account is very helpful.”

Even with safeguards in place, Witness 1 recanted his testimony during the first week of the Lubanga trial.
Witness 1 did not know he could potentially face prosecution under Congolese law if he incriminated himself
while testifying before the Court. Unlike the ICC, Congolese law permits the prosecution of former child
soldiers for crimes committed while under the age of 18.22 However, Witness 1 completed testifying after
speaking with the prosecution. Most likely, the prosecution explained that in order to be subject to prosecution
Witness 1 would need to incriminate himself while testifying. The prosecution has learned from its early
mistake to fully inform witnesses. All subsequent prosecution witnesses have successfully testified in the
Lubanga case.

Trust Fund for Victims. In September 2002, the ICC established the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) to further
assist victims and families in rebuilding their lives and communities. The TFV’s mission is to support programs
which address the harm resulting from crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC by assisting victims to return to
a dignified and contributory life within their communities.23

The mandate of the TFV is set out in Articles 47 and 79(2) of the Rome Statute and in Rule 98(5) of the Court’s
Rules of Evidence and Procedure. The Court, pursuant to Article 79(2), may order money and other property
collected through fines or forfeiture to be transferred to the TFV. Under Article 79, Rule 98(5) allows the
resources of the TFV to be used for the benefit of the victims. Article 47 includes psychological or physical
rehabilitation and material support as a benefit.24

At this time, projects are underway in the DRC and Northern Uganda to assist with the psychological support
and material support for ex-child soldiers and abducted children.25 The funds for these projects are collected
through voluntary contributions by agreements; however, non-governmental donations are accepted so long as
the donations benefit victims and are non-discriminatory. Additionally, the TFV provides grants for approved
projects provided field assessments are carried out to ensure a project directly addresses the harm caused by
conflict and targets the most vulnerable victims of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court.26

22
Rachel Irwin, With First Witness Ruled Unable to Testify, Prosecution Scrambles, January 29, 2009, available at
http://www.lubangatrial.org/2009/01/29/with-first-witness-ruled-unable-to-testify-prosecution-scrambles/.
23
ICC Trust Fund for Victims, available at
http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC/Structure+of+the+Court/Victims/Trust+Fund+for+Victims/.
24
See id.
25
ICC Trust Fund for Victims, Current Projects, available at
http://www.icccpi.int/Menus/ICC/Structure+of+the+Court/Victims/Trust+Fund+for+Victims/Current+Projects/.
26
See ICC Trust Fund for Victims, available at
http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC/Structure+of+the+Court/Victims/Trust+Fund+for+Victims/.

www.amicc.org

US Responses to Child Soldiering

The US must not be a safe haven for those who exploit children as soldiers. The use of children
as combatants is one of the most despicable human rights violations in the world today and
affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of boys and girls who are used as combatants, porters,
human mine detectors and sex slaves. The power to prosecute and punish those who violate the
law will send a clear signal that the US will in no way tolerate this abhorrent practice.
- Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)

In 2008, the US House of Representatives and the Senate unanimously adopted the Child Soldiers
Accountability Act, proposed by Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois.27 Under the Act, US courts may prosecute
individuals for the recruitment or use of children under the age of 15 regardless of whether the offense took
place in whole or in part in the US or if the perpetrator is a national of the US.

The US has signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child but has not ratified it. Nevertheless, it has ratified
the Optional Protocol to the convention, thus committing itself not to use child soldiers. In the US, federal law
maintains the age for enlistment in the United States Military as 18; however, a child may enlist at 17 with
parental consent.28 A 17 year-old recruit is not permitted to engage in combat. Further, Canada, Latin America
and most of Europe permit the recruitment of children under 18 with parental or legal guardian consent. The
Optional Protocol permits recruitment of children under the age of 18 if consent is freely given by the child and
a parent or legal guardian.

Difficulties in Protecting Children in Armed Conflict

I was told to train. I would run…. They trained me to take guns apart and put them back together
again for four months…. They put someone in front of me to kill. I killed.
- A 14 year-old ex-child soldier

The nature of conflict has changed with the use of guerrillas and rebel groups, the targeting of civilians and the
easy access to lightweight arms, landmines and cluster munitions.29 In fact, civilians make up about 90% of
casualties in war. Moreover, half of these civilian casualties are children. Every year 8,000 to 10,000 children
are injured from landmines. To date, conflict has left 2.5 million children displaced, orphaned or abandoned. As
a result of greater access to small arms, cluster munitions and landmines, attacks at schools, hospitals, market
places and villages throughout Africa and beyond have become increasingly common and violent.30

27
Public Law 110-340, signed into law October 3, 2008.
28
10 U.S.C. § 505; Rod Powers, United States Military Enlistment Standards: Do You Qualify to Enlist in the United States
Military?, About.com, available at http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/enlstandards.htm.
29
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children in Armed Conflict, The Changing Nature of Conflict,
available at http://www.un.org/children/conflict/english/the-changing-nature-of-conflict.html.
30
See id.

www.amicc.org

Today, the word “army” includes militias, guerrillas, terrorist groups and national forces.31 These groups are
not under the control of governments and, even if backed by the governments, there is limited control. The lack
of control, information and accountability make it nearly impossible to know fully which groups are
conscripting children into the ranks. Many groups have become emboldened by the inability of national
governments to control their actions.

Signs of increasingly disturbing actions by militants, specifically by the Taliban in Pakistan, include the
training of approximately 5,000 children between 10 and 17 as suicide bombers in so called “suicide
nurseries.”32 Similarly, Al-Qaeda has been training women and children to carry out attacks against US troops
since 2005. The most appalling sign of emboldened violence involves Iraqi insurgents who strapped a young
girl with explosives and remotely detonated the explosives in May of 2008.33 In September 2008, a 15 year-old
boy blew himself up among pro-government militia members in northern Baghdad. In November, a 13 year-old
girl also blew herself up at a checkpoint in Ba’qubah.34

Continued Impunity

The Security Council has said it will consider sanctions against governments and armed groups
that refuse to end their use of child soldiers. Instead, it has allowed these crimes against children
to continue for years.
- Jo Becker, Human Rights Watch.35

A disturbing trend worldwide is the appointment of suspected war criminals to positions of power within
national governments and militaries. For example, military commanders, suspected of using child soldiers, are
now government officials in the DRC and Sri Lanka. In addition, General Bosco Ntaganda is wanted by the
ICC for enlisting child soldiers and using them in hostilities; however, he remains a member of the Congolese
army.

In the DRC, Jean-Pierre Biyoyo, a member of the DRC military, deserted in 2004 and joined the insurrection
movement, Front Social pour le Progrès (FSP). Between June 2004 and July 2005, Biyoyo committed crimes
for which he was expelled from the army and sentenced to death by the Military Tribunal in Bukavu on March
17, 2006 and again on January 12, 2007. However, Biyoyo escaped from prison twice and returned to Bukavu.
He declared himself a “lieutenant-colonel” in charge of reintegrating militiamen into the Congolese army. At
this time, Biyoyo is a member of the military and remains at large.36

31
Id.
32
Kids Trained to be Bombers, South Asian Pacific, April 30, 2009, available at
http://www.southasianpost.com/portal2/c1ee8c4220c4708e0120f8940af702ca_Kids_trained_to_be_bombers.do.html.
33
Thalif Deen, Recruiters of Child Soldiers Defy UN Pressure, Inter Press Service News Agency, April 30, 2009, available at
http://www.ipsnews.net/-romt.asp?idnews=46669.
34
See id.
35
36
Avocats Sans Frontières, ASF is concerned by the fact that Jean-Pierre Biyoyo remains at Large, May 2009, available at
http://www.asf.be/publications/ASF_RDC_Biyoyo_ENGL.pdf.

www.amicc.org

In Sri Lanka, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, a former commander of the eastern division of LITTE, formed
his own army called the Karuna Group. This group is allied with the government and responsible for the
abductions and forcible recruitment of hundreds of children.37 In April 2009, Mr. Muralitharan was appointed
the Minister of National Integration and Reconciliation.

The appointment of suspected war criminals to position of power does nothing to end the impunity and only
increases the likelihood that the use of child soldiers will continue. However, not all those affected by conflict
see the appointment of suspected criminals as impunity. In fact, cultural differences in Africa have shown that
international justice is not what all victims want. Instead, victims have said that peace should come before
justice.38 To achieve peace without justice could involve giving amnesty to alleged perpetrators. In addition to
varied opinions on the effectiveness of the Court, its presence has not shown any documented deterrence in the
recruitment of children by groups. Therefore the Court and the international community must address the
widespread impunity and reconcile cultural differences before deterrence can be achieved.

Challenges of Reintegration

They cut me and they put the cocaine, and after which they cover that with a plaster…. I valued
nothing and my head started turning. That was the time that the commander passed an order that
my mother should be shot. So the fellow, a small boy, shot at my mother twice, and my mother
started calling my name and she died finally.
- A child soldier from Sierra Leone.39

Dr. Elisabeth Schauer, as part of her expert testimony in the Lubanga case, explained the occurrence of post-
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among former child soldiers. She highlighted a link between traumatic events
and psychiatric disorders. For child soldiers, a traumatic event is a situation where a person witnessed the death
or serious injury of others, was the victim of rape, or was forced to participate in violence.40

To determine the most common traumatic events experienced by child soldiers, Dr. Schauer’s and her
associates surveyed 1,114 children and young adults in IDP camps of Northern Uganda during 2007 and 2008.
The most common traumatic life events of children forcibly abducted included: being forced to skin, chop, or
cook dead bodies; forced to eat human flesh; forced to loot property and burn houses; forced to abduct children;
forced to kill; forced to beat, injure, or mutilate someone; causing serious injury to someone; carrying heavy
loads; giving birth in captivity; threats of being killed; witnessing mutilations of people; sexual assault, assault
with a weapon and physical assaults.41

37
38
Bill Carson and Tia Goldenberg, First ICC case could make African leaders ‘face the music,’ Monsters & Critics, January 29, 2007,
available at http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/africa/features/printer_1253098.php.
39
Seeking reparation for torture survivors: Victims, Perpetrators or Heroes?, The Redress Trust, September 2006, available at
http://www.redress.org/publications/childsoldiers.pdf.
40
Expert Testimony of Dr. Elisabeth Schauer, ICC Public Hearing, April 7, 2009, available at
41
Elizabeth Schauer, PhD, The Psychological Impact of Child Soldiering, April 7, 2009, p. 11, available at

www.amicc.org

Dr. Schauer explained that repeated exposure to traumatic events can create the “building blocks” for PTSD.
Each new traumatic event is another “block” and, as the “blocks” stack up, victims are more likely to suffer
from depression later. Even if children are treated, the long term effects may never completely go away.
Similarly, former World War II prisoners reported suffering similar symptoms of depression. Even as time
passed, these prisoners had fewer occurrences of nightmares, flashbacks, and symptoms; however, they are
never completely cured.42

In addition, ex-child soldiers often suffer from drug addiction because African militias use drugs, specifically
hallucinogens during combat. After demobilization, former soldiers often continue to use drugs to deal with
symptoms of PTSD.43 This adds drug abuse as another factor in rehabilitation in addition to domestic violence,
alcoholism and lower productivity – all common among former child soldiers.

Further, women and girls face serious health risks from multiple rapes, difficult pregnancies and forced
abortions. While in captivity, pregnant women suffer from aggression, anxiety and depression which disrupt the
regulation of hormonal activity. The disruption of normal hormonal activity often affects the development of
the fetus.

Moreover, after demobilization women are often rejected by their families and communities. For example,
many cultures do not permit women to remarry once they are rescued from fighting. The shame of bearing
children out of wedlock is not only a shame for the child and mothers but also for the community. Many former
“wives” are forced to make a choice between their children and their communities if they wish to be welcomed
“home.”44

These women are far more likely to end up in abusive relationships or working as prostitutes because they are
viewed as “undesirable” and potentially infected with HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases.45 A 14
year-old girl named Anna, was abducted in the DRC at age 12 and was forced to be a “bride” to soldiers and
cook, clean, and fight. Since UNICEF rescued her, she has lived with her grandmother and works as a prostitute
to support herself and her family.46

I joined SPLA when I was 13. I am from Bahr Al Bhazal. They demobilized me in 2001 and
took me to Rumbek, but I was given no demobilization documents. Now, I am stuck here
because my family was killed in a government attack and because the SPLA will re-recruit me.
At times I wonder why I am not going back to SPLA, half of my friends have and they seem to
be better off than me.
- A boy from Southern Sudan.

42
Id. at p.16.
43
Id. at p.18.
44
Id. at pp. 27-30.
45
Id. pp.6, 27-29.
46
The Problem of Reintegrating Child Soldiers, AllAfrica.com, April 12, 2005), available at
http://www.cyc-net.org/features/ft-soldiers.html.

www.amicc.org

As of March 2008, UNICEF has returned 1,500 children to their families. However, not all families will accept
the children because of their violent behavior. Some parents have turned to “medicating” children to control
their behaviors. Sadly, some children do not want to return to their families. In the Congo, one child upon being
demobilized said, “[w]hat will I do without my family? The army is my family.47”Groups like UNICEF have
sprung up around the world to help children reintegrate into communities. One such group, the Children of War
Center, opened in 1995, and has assisted child soldiers who fought with the LRA. This center has helped
rehabilitate 15,000 children since it opened its doors.48

Conclusion

The child soldiers gave a message to the world and we must listen, “[s]o that other children don't have to pass
through this violence”- a young girl who escaped the LRA in Uganda.49 In response to this message, the
international community has established international norms, tribunals and the ICC to stop the use of child
soldiers in conflict. Major achievements of the international community include the current prosecutions of
Thomas Lubanga by the ICC and of former Liberian President Charles Taylor by the Special Court for Sierra
Leone.

However, the international community must continue to punish those responsible for recruiting, enlisting and
forcibly abducting children to participate in hostilities. Further, governments must be pressured to end the
practice of rewarding suspected criminals with government positions. Governments that fail to comply with
ending the use of child soldiers must face serious consequences from the international community.

Finally, the international community must provide adequate rehabilitation to child soldiers so that they may be
successfully reintegrated into their families and communities. Reintegration programs for ex-child soldiers
cannot be limited to vocational training; instead, these programs must include psychological and emotional
counseling. In order to prevent re-recruitment children must be given the tools to succeed not only financially
but also emotionally in order to end the cycle of violence.

Researched and drafted by Lucia DiCicco
Updated June 5, 2009

47
See id.
48
Craig Kielburger and Marc Lielburger, Former child soldiers face psychological battle, May 4, 2009, available at
http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/627688.
49

www.amicc.org

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